THE holders of the controversial PEP-11 offshore gas permit hope that former PM Scott Morrison's decision to stop the project will be overturned and that they can resume exploring the undersea gas field they believe could be compared in energy terms with the world famous Bass Strait.
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David Breeze, the Perth-based head of PEP-11 shareholder BPH Energy Ltd, has been in Newcastle this week talking to business leaders about the project, before further talks today in Sydney.
As was revealed after the May federal election, Mr Morrison had appointed himself without public announcement to various extra ministries during the COVID pandemic, and had used his powers as resources minister to refuse to extend an exploration permit for the offshore PEP-11 area.
The Albanese government appointed former High Court judge Virginia Bell to inquire into Mr Morrison's self-appointment, with her report due in a little over a fortnight, on November 25.
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Another former High Court justice, Bill Gummow, had a "note" published recently in the Australian Law Journal saying the "clandestine arrangements" were invalid because of the secrecy involved, and Mr Breeze told the Newcastle Herald yesterday that he hoped the federal government would return the decision to the national regulator, and allow the permit to be extended.
As well, another PEP-11 shareholder company, Asset Energy Pty Ltd, has begun Federal Court proceedings for a "judicial review" of Mr Morrison's "purported use of non-public ministerial powers to block the PEP-11 gas exploration licence", which Mr Breeze says is due to commence in March next year.
In a presentation yesterday to Business Hunter members, Mr Breeze said the global energy crisis and its associated price rises made PEP-11 - a "conventional offshore gas project" - all the more commercially viable, and all the more important to the nation's energy security.
"We have said from the start that we will reserve the output of PEP-11 for the domestic market, which is catastrophically short of gas," Mr Breeze said yesterday.
He said the recent Budget from Treasurer Jim Chalmers was framed around further rises in energy prices, which could only be eased by increasing supply.
He said decades of seismic and geo-chemical testing had all but confirmed the existence of extremely large undersea gas reservoirs in PEP-11, and a renewed permit would allow the permit-holders to work towards a test drilling of its Baleen site, about 25 kilometres east of Munmorah.
He said that for all of the environmental protests about PEP-11, it was a project that would have no visible surface infrastructure.
Should it proceed to a full production licence, the current plan was for gas to be pumped from Baleen along a single buried pipeline to the coast.
Federal Court documents show talks have been held with Snowy Hydro about supplying its Colongra gas-fired power station at Munmorah.
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Ian Kirkwood
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
Reporting journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1987. Editorial writer, general reporter, industrial relations, industry and coal.
